It expressed alarm at the situation in nearby Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg, where euthanasia is legal. “These countries legalised euthanasia for patients in the terminal stage who are able to decide for themselves, but in practice the target group has progressively grown broader and been extended to vulnerable groups in society,” the CCNE’s report (PDF) said.

But Hollande insists. The CCNE wants a debate, he said, so France will have a debate and then Parliament will vote.

Michael Cook likes bad puns, bushwalking and black coffee. He did a BA at Harvard University in the US where it was good for networking, but moved to Sydney where it wasn’t. He also did a PhD on an obscure corner of Australian literature. He has worked as a book editor and magazine editor and has published articles in magazines and newspapers in the US, the UK and Australia.

Making euthanasia legal, makes all murder arguable if the reasoning sounds reasonable.Same arguments in the legalization of abortion. The reasons are always reasonable for the act. Hey, what about the rule of convenience? If it’s convenient at the time, do it.